Actor can relate to how character deals with issues

Sunday

May 29, 2011 at 12:01 AMMay 29, 2011 at 12:46 PM

NEW YORK - The hero of the animated Kung Fu Panda 2 is a panda named Po - but he might as well be called "Jack Black and White" because there is no mistaking the distinctive sensibility of the comic actor who supplies the voice of the character.

NEW YORK - The hero of the animated Kung Fu Panda 2 is a panda named Po - but he might as well be called "Jack Black and White" because there is no mistaking the distinctive sensibility of the comic actor who supplies the voice of the character.

The 41-year-old spoke recently about his work.

Q: Animation directors do recording sessions in different ways. Usually, actors all record separately - but not always. How did it work for you?

A: The only thing I did with another actor was the scene when I first meet (the antagonist) Shen, the albino peacock. Me and Gary Oldman did bust that out together because they were unable to get the magic with us separately.

Q: Why was that, do you think?

A: There was just something about the intensity of the scene where we meet and we're kind of laughing at each other and slowly ramping it up. It needed to happen live.

Q: In the first Kung Fu Panda, Po dreams of joining the movie's team of heroes. Now, here, he's a member, he can hold his own, but he's also the one who clowns around and makes the others laugh. Anything you can personally relate to there?

A: All through my 20s I was very much like Po, just sort of struggling to get by and not really being one of the comedic actors who were established. I didn't really have a consistent moneymaking career, like I can get my own apartment, until I was, like, 30 years old.

Before that I would get parts here and there and I would go get an apartment and live there for a while, and then I would run out of money and go back and live with my mom.

So, yeah, when I'm trying to get in the Po mode, I think back on those times, to my humble days when I was in awe of the comedy gods.

Q: And those would be?

A: Obviously, John Belushi. He was a big influence on me, but also, later on, Chris Farley. Those are obvious ones, just because we portly comedians got to stick together.

But I'm also a huge fan of Jim Carrey and his style.

Q: Will there be a sequel to Tropic Thunder?

A: Don't think so.

Q: Your hard-core fans are clamoring to see your and Owen Wilson's 1999 sci-fi/comedy TV pilot, Heat Vision and Jack, released legitimately, not just as a bootleg video. Will that ever happen?

A: I don't think so. That's a YouTuber. That's the way it has to be, unfortunately.

Q: What are you doing next?

A: I've got a bird-

watching movie coming out with Steve Martin and Owen Wilson in October, and then I did Bernie with Rick Linklater that comes out I don't know when.